The A50 was brought to a standstill today between Foston and Stoke by farmers highlighting yet another drop in milk prices.
Close to 40 tractors set off this morning at around 11am from Sudbury and from Blyth Bridge on the A50 towards Uttoxeter causing lengthy tailbacks of more than an hour each way for drivers.
The convoy was eventually intercepted by police who escorted them, in single file on the dual carriageway, to the Dairy Crest site in Foston to continue their protest.
A spokesman for the farmers said it was the only way they felt they could get people to take notice of their concerns. He said: «Today Arla, the dairy cooperative, announced it was dropping the price it pays us by 0.8p a litre.
«It might not sound much, but it means we only get 23.01p a litre now.
«We don’t want to protest this way, and we’re sorry for anyone who was caught up in the traffic jams, but we can’t keep taking these sort of price cuts and continue running our farms.»
The decrease will take effect from August 3.
Source: Derby Telegraph